BU Bridge Rehab Project Public Meeting: Thursday, October 16, 2008

If you ride in Boston, then help us advocate for bicycling improvements as part of the upcoming rehabilitation of the BU Bridge. The bridge itself, and the complicated intersections on either side of it, are among the most dangerous places in Boston for bicyclists, yet thousands of cyclists must use this critical link between Boston and Cambridge every day.

At the meeting, representatives from the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and the agency’s design contractor, STV, will discuss plans to repair and rehabilitate the 80-year-old bridge, which carries an estimated 41,000 vehicles a day. Bids for the roughly $20 million project will be solicited this fall, and work is planned to begin next spring. The project will involve a total deck replacement on the bridge and is expected to be completed in about three years.

The most recent designs we’ve seen do not improve conditions for bicyclists, so this meeting is an opportunity to tell the DCR that they cannot miss this opportunity to make the bridge safer for bicyclists.

The meeting will be in the auditorium of the BU College of General Studies, 871 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, Room 129 on the lower level, from 6-8pm.
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The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) started work this week to replace both sidewalks on the Boston University Bridge, which crosses the Charles River between Cambridge and Boston.

Work is being done on one sidewalk at a time, beginning with the upstream, Cambridge-to- Boston, side. During the construction, the sidewalk and adjacent traffic lane will be closed, and pedestrians will be detoured to the other sidewalk. Work on both sides is expected to take about three months. Message boards have been installed at each end of the bridge advising motorists of the construction and lane restrictions.

In addition, during the work, the bike/pedestrian path that passes under the bridge on the Boston side will be closed beginning May 20th from 8 PM – 4 AM each night, until further notice. Signs posted at the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge and River Street Bridge in Boston will direct pathway users to cross the river to Memorial Drive as an alternative route.

The DCR contact for this project is Wendy Fox (617-626-1453).